The sun was shining overhead, and excitement buzzed among guests and crew alike as we prepared for our adventure on the Salish Sea. Our tour took us into the Strait of Georgia, where we found our whales for the day: Kaju (BCY1474) and Billiard (BCY1335) travelling together, plus Divot (BCX1057) and her new calf (BCX1057calf2026).

Seeing the humpbacks in our area is always a special sight, especially considering it wasn’t too long ago that they were considered extirpated from the area. When an animal is considered extirpated, it means it is locally extinct. This huge decrease in their numbers was caused by whaling in the area, or the commercial hunting of whales. Humpbacks were one of the main species targeted thanks to their large size and the large amounts of blubber on their bodies, which could be processed into oil for lighting lanterns. The whales were estimated to be down to 10% of their historic numbers, but luckily the story turns to one of success! Since their protection under the International Whaling Ban was made official in 1986, the humpback whale population in the area has been recovering and continues to rise each year. A big part of this is the high site fidelity humpback whales show, which is a fancy way of saying they return to the same area year after year. This is true for the calves as well, since they will return to the same feeding ground that their mom brings them to during their first year.

As time goes on and the whales keep returning to the same area, those numbers will continue to increase over generations. A lot of this success is due to one individual, Big Mama, who just happens to be the Mother and Grandmother of the cow-calf pair that we saw today! Divot was Big Mama’s first calf, born back in 2003, and was the first of the 8 calves that have returned to the area with Big Mama. She alone is responsible for 20 new individuals in the Salish Sea through her family line, 11 of whom are from Divot herself. Here is an impressive look at that family tree:

Over time, this should continue to grow and contribute to the amazing population growth we have been seeing. It is more than just the growing families, though, as we also have whales choosing to come to the Salish Sea as their main feeding grounds in adulthood, indicating that they are leaving their old feeding grounds behind. Hopefully, this growth continues as we continue watching whales in this lovely area.

In addition to the whales, we also made a stop at Stinky Rock to view the pinnipeds that spend their time there: Steller Sea Lions and Harbour Seals. These two were in their usual spot again, drinking in the sunshine as they rested on the rocks. Both of these populations show recovery, as their numbers were reduced during culls in the 1960s. After they gained protection from this organized killing aimed at increasing fish stocks, they have been recovering ever since. As time goes on, we will likely see more and more of them until they reach their carrying capacity. Seeing them is always a special sight. What also caught our attention here was the fire response we witnessed. Earlier, we had seen a fire on Valdes Island right by the Haul-out, which had luckily been put out.

From here, we headed back towards Nanaimo, pleased with all the wildlife we had seen on the water. Please enjoy the photos taken throughout the tour by the Marine Naturalists onboard, Aly Kohlman, Desarae Poier, and Jordan Robinson, included below.

August 3, 2026, 10:30 AM - The Legacy lives on!